Ronan O’Gara Discusses His Role In Donnacha Ryan’s Expected Move To Racing 92
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Former Munster playmaker Ronan O’Gara has revealed that he made the initial contact with Donnacha Ryan about a move to Racing 92.
O’Gara, who is Racing’s current defence coach, confirmed this morning in his Irish Examiner column that he made the initial approach to his former teammate but had no hand in the contract negotiations.
The former Ireland outhalf says that Munster fans should indeed be upset with Ryan leaving the province as he feels that players over 30 years of age are “not valued” in Ireland with France one of the only countries that “values experience”.
“How involved was I? Of course, I went after him initially but when it came to the contracts and the small print, I stayed well away from everything,” wrote O’Gara in the Irish Examiner.
“An individual has to decide for himself what they want to do. With the volatility in French rugby, there’s no point signing a contract thinking, ‘I’ll be here forever and a day’. Even in recent weeks, Donnacha would have been a close observer of the ‘fusion’ with Stade Francais which looked like it might scupper any hope of a deal for him.
“So it was really important that Donnacha, or any player, makes up their own mind rather than me trying to convince them it’s the right thing to do.”
